Entangled Review

Entangled by Cat Clarke

3.5 out of 5

I got Entangled off ebay, because it's not available in the US. I guess I can see why, though. As a non-British reader, I didn't know some of the slang that was used, especially in the beginning of the book. It was a little off-putting at first, but I'm pretty good at figuring out words and sayings in the context of the sentence. The slang lessened as the book continued anyway.

The story is told in a stream of consciousness type way by Grace, who flips between her present and the past that led up to it. It starts on the third day of her kidnapping, where she recounts how she met Ethan, her kidnapper, during her drunken suicide attempt. He pushes her to remember something and write until she gets there. He brings her meals and sits with her, but she has no idea what's going on. She starts to write anyway.

Spoilers Ahead

MAC Surf Baby swatches

I spent my morning at the MAC counter picking up the Surf Baby collection yesterday. I bought more stuff than I had originally planned- the pigment stacks and the purple lipstick. I also ended up skipping the My Paradise cheek powder that I originally wanted when I asked them to try the base color without the gold overlay on me and I hated how it looked.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary 24/7 liner set swatches

I finally broke down and bought Urban Decay's 15th Anniversary 24/7 liner set. I've always been turned off by the price ($92) even though I know that the price per liner ($6.13 each) is really good, especially when you see how much they cost individually ($18 each). I decided to get it, though, when I looked around online and didn't see it on any website for sale. I knew Ulta had a bunch so I got it on my last trip.

As much as I love Urban Decay's 24/7 liners, I actually didn't have that many because they were so expensive. Out of the ones I had, only 2 (stash and zero) were in the set. So I'm pretty happy that I don't have a ton of duplicate liners. It also comes with a sharpener, which I do already have, but it's good to have an extra because I lose things.

Stray Dog, Corrupt, Bourbon, Midnight Cowboy, Baked, Stash, Mildew, Perversion, Electric, Binge, Ransom, Asphyxia, Rockstar, Zero, and Uzi (left to right)

Die for Me review

Die for Me by Amy Plum
4 out of 5

I'm going to get this part out of the way first. Though I do not at all believe that all paranormal YA books are only copying Twilight (like it was the very first paranormal YA book), I find there are a lot of very basic similarities in this book.

• A teen girl moves to the place where she's previously spent all her summers.
• The girl, who feels she's only mildly attractive, finds herself the object of a super hot guy's obsession.
• All his friends think she's the hottest thing ever as well.
• She's super obsessed at first sight by the guy as well and after a few prickly conversations, they go out to dinner.
• She becomes super close to the guy's sister-like friend that lives with him and becomes like a little sister to all the guys in the house.
• After a little research, she stumbles across their family secret and is let into their confidence.
• She's let in because the guy has never felt like this before and his family can see how good she is for him.

Basically, the dynamic with the revenants and Kate was incredibly similar to Twilight and I just couldn't help noticing it. Fortunately, the book is far more than that, too. The characters are stronger and more likable, though I wasn't sure about Kate sometimes.

Spoilers ahead

Stila Stunning in Sayulita swatches

I picked up the Stila Stunning in Sayulita palette from Ulta. I have two of the previous ones and I liked them, so I thought I'd try another one. I actually really like how these are packaged because they are so small they can easily be taken anywhere with you. They are actually a little more expensive this time. The ones I bought last year were $10 and these are $14.

MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow duo swatches

I ordered two of the new mineralize eye shadows and got them in this week. I didn't have any of the previous trios, but apparently there is little difference between these and the trios.

 Pretty & Prim, Mix & Switch

Kids Incorporated

I spend a lot of my extra time on youtube looking up music videos from old songs. Because of this, I sometimes come across a Kids Inc video.

I looooooved this show. It was the only show I ever wrote a letter to... and I got a pre-printed autographed photo of the 1987 cast. I still have that BTW. I also know a ton of 80s songs because of Kids Inc.

Anyway, I'll be looking at the Kids Inc songs and I'll randomly think "Oh I loved that song" or remember loving the episode it was a part of... so I wanted to share some of my favorite songs from Kids Inc. Some are because I liked the part of the episode and some are because I really liked the song. Most come from 1987 and only a few come after that.




1985/86 Theme Song

More Lime Crime swatches and EOTD

I already talked about the Lime Crime I had, but I got more. I ordered two new eyeshadows in Circus Girl and Siren during their Mothers' Day sale. I really wish I could have gotten more, but could only get these this time.

 Siren and Circus Girl

e.l.f. elements custom eyeshadow compact and lipstick swatches

My Target has expanded their e.l.f. selection considerably since I was last there, and they are so cheap, so I had to get some.

I didn't have any of their eyeshadows, so I decided to try out the custom compact that they had and there were four colors I thought I might use, though they didn't have all the colors available.

Truly Pink, Ivory, Golden Glow, Periwinkle

Geek Chic Cosmetics swatches and 1st impression

Geek Chic Cosmetics combines the love of geeky stuff with the love of makeup. Most seem to be based around video games, but also things like zombies and TV shows (like the one I got). They offer loose eyeshadow, lipsticks and glosses, foundation and blushes. For my order, I chose a set of loose shadows and a lipstick.

I did feel like shipping was a little slow, though not annoyingly so. It took almost 2 weeks from my order date to receive. Everything was securely bubble wrapped and nothing was messed up in the package. I was actually a little worried that I had ordered lipstick that I knew would sit outside most of the day until I got home. But all was good.

I like that Geek Chic cosmetics did something that set them apart from all the other indie makeup companies by combining geek stuff and makeup. It makes it much more memorable. But I don't know all the video games they reference so it'd be nice if they had the info on the collection page.

Everything came in a cute little bag. I also like how each set has its own graphic sticker on top.

May Birchbox

I got my May Birchbox in yesterday and opened it this morning.

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box swatches

I bought the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box for two of the colors in it- Honey and Peace. I had been looking at the individual deluxe shadows, but they were $18 each and this was $38. I'm actually really glad I got this because I found a color I liked even better that I wasn't even looking at (Fishnet).

 I actually really like this box. The metal on the front moves a little and jingles.

MAC Fashion Flower swatches

These are a little late because my MAC counter didn't get them in on April 28. They came in on May 5 and the ones I ordered from the website came in two days before. I only got a few things- Ever Hip, Summer Shower, Alpha Girl and Bows & Curtseys- because the other shadows I wanted are permanent and I decided to wait on those.

More drugstore swatches

I love drugstore makeup. I can get a lot and try a lot because I'm not spending $20 for an eyeshadow. So I got some stuff from some brands I know I like and I got to try one I've never tried before.

 Maybelline The Bright Side LE palette

MAC Big Bounce eyeshadow

Despite several unfavorable reviews for the Big Bounce shadows from MAC's Flighty collection, I decided that I wanted to try a few for myself.

 Up the Ante!, Impeccably Rich, Extra Charged

Makeup haul

I've got a lot of stuff over the past month, some drug store and some high end. I thought I'd share.

 1. Jordana Incolor Fabulash liquid liner in black

2. Maybelline The Brightside LE 8 color palette

3. Milani baked eyeshadow in Teal the Truth

4. Jordana Incolor Squeeze n Shine lipgloss in Be Coralful

Yay candy

These new Skinny Cow candy bars are awesome. Aside from peanut butter, they also have a milk chocolate (not as good IMO) and clusters. I found them at Walgreens.

Books of April 2011

Awakened by PC and Kristin Cast - Review here 3 out of 5

Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal - Review here 3 out of 5

Maggie: Diary Two by Ann M. Martin - This book is part of a spin-off of The Baby-Sitters Club involving Dawn and her friends in California. It was much darker than the original series. Maggie is struggling with her workaholic dad, her alcoholic mom, a fundraiser, band practice, boys and a job. It's a lot for a girl, especially a 13-year-old. She also thinks she's fat and everything would be so much better if she could lose five pounds. It was a better portrayal of an eating disorder than I thought it'd be, but it still wrapped up quickly and easily. Of course, there is another book about Maggie in the series, so maybe it's covered there.
What I had issues with most was the freedom that a 13-year-old girl was given. She was in a band? She went on dates with guys who could drive? And how did she just get a new job without a work permit? She had a midnight curfew? It was completely unrealistic and, if I had been 13 myself, would have made me feel like a loser because I didn't get those freedoms.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand - Review here 4 out of 5

Skin Deep by Mark Del Franco - While I had a different idea about what this book was about before I read it, it was still good. I don't often read Urban Fantasy written by men and it's such a nice change. Romance takes a way backseat to the political intrigue and police action in this book, but there's still some there. What I really liked was that the character wasn't a Mary Sue. She had weaknesses that actually had an impact on the story and she didn't save the day by developing some superpower. If a lot of politics isn't your thing, though, it may not be something you'd want to read. 4 out of 5

Wings by Aprilynne Pike - Some YA books can still be good for an adult audience... this is not one of those books. It was very juvenile and much better suited for a young YA audience- maybe 11 or 12. For me, it was not great. It actually had an interesting take on faeries but it didn't have enough depth. However, I don't think it would be bad for its intended audience. I did get the 2nd book at the same time as this one on a bargain sale, so I may read it. 3 out of 5